WCR This Week

ROME – A Nigerian Catholic bishop has called for Western military intervention to stop the violent rampage of the Boko Haram terrorist organization. The Muslim group's increasingly deadly assaults and expanded recruitment from countries across North Africa mean "a concerted military campaign is needed by the West to crush Boko Haram," said Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme of Maiduguri, capital of the troubled Borno state.

Radicals have to fight their way into the history books. Ninety years after her death, Katherine Hughes is finally winning that battle. Hughes wasn't the usual sort of radical. She began her life and career as a solid contributor from within Canada's Catholic establishment. She was one of the founders of the Catholic Women's League.

A Saskatoon man terrorized by an incident of road rage came to an accommodation with the perpetrator through a process of restorative justice. "Being willing and courageous enough to go out and meet with the person who committed a crime against you is a powerful faith statement," said Peter Oliver, community reintegration chaplain with the Micah Mission, an ecumenical restorative justice ministry in Saskatoon. It involves "faith in the humanity of other people . . . and hope about what is possible," Oliver told a recent meeting attended by 150 people at St. Anne's Church.

As the October federal election approaches, a number of MPs who have played key roles in life, family and social justice issues have said they are stepping down from federal politics. About two dozen Conservative MPs have indicated they will not run in the next federal election, among them many prominent pro-life and pro-family stalwarts. They include Saskatoon-Wanuskwein, Sask. MP Maurice Vellacott, who co-chaired the parliamentary pro-life caucus for about a decade, Winnipeg South MP Rod Bruinooge who succeeded him as caucus chair; and Kildonan-St. Paul, Man. MP Joy Smith, who championed anti-human trafficking legislation and paved the way for the government's new anti-prostitution law.

On the First Sunday of Advent, Nov. 30, 2014, the Church around the world – at the invitation of Pope Francis – began to celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life, which will conclude 12 months from now on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Feb. 2, 2016. The Catholic Bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories would like to take this occasion to address Christ's faithful and all people of good will regarding the immeasurable contribution that consecrated men and women have made to the life of the Church and of all people in this region for over 150 years.

Christians are called to overcome apathy, discouragement and pretentions of self-sufficiency by letting God enter their hearts, Pope Francis said. Letting God into one's heart allows one to become joyful, merciful and strong, the pope said in his Lenten message. Through prayer, charity and humility before God, people receive a heart "which is firm and merciful, attentive and generous, a heart which is not closed, indifferent or prey to the globalization of indifference."

In the early morning hours of Jan. 17, I awoke to the ominous sound of helicopters hovering closely over my house. My instincts told me something was wrong. Shortly thereafter, the citizens of St. Albert heard the terrible news that two RCMP officers were shot in the casino and the shooter had escaped to a nearby acreage. For 10 hours, the city listened to the low-flying helicopter and wondered about the fate of the two officers. The killer shot himself dead and sadly Const. David Wynn died of his wounds. Derek Bond, an auxiliary constable, survived.

About a decade ago, Pierre Ducharme came to Edmonton from Vancouver to study theology at Newman Theological College. He wanted to go into ministry as a layperson. Through Newman, he met local members of the Franciscan order and ended up becoming a Franciscan. Today, he wears the brown habit, which has been the symbol of the Franciscans for more than 800 years.

It was in the fall of 1859 that the Grey Nuns arrived in Alberta, welcomed by Father Albert Lacombe at Lac Ste. Anne with ringing church bells and dancing First Nations people. But a year later, Lacombe took Bishop Alexander Taché up to a hill outside of what is now St. Albert and showed him a wide vista of land that could be used as a settlement and farming.

EDMONTON &– Born Dec. 1, 1911, in Clyde, Sister Mary Teresa Leindecker served 85 years as a contemplative nun before dying at age 103. Sister Carmelita Ramos shared her life with Leindecker at the Edmonton Precious Blood Monastery. Now living in Calgary's Monastery of the Precious Blood, Ramos says, "I miss her already." She described Leindecker as "a most generous person. If you ask for something, she goes way beyond what you could use, especially food. It would just be more than what they can consume."